


Family Matters

by Smashing_Successor



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Kakusei | Fire Emblem: Awakening
Genre: F/M, Family Bonding, Identity, Mother-Daughter Field Trip, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Past Relationship(s), retired heroes, 退休的勇者們
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-16
Updated: 2020-08-16
Packaged: 2021-03-06 01:28:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,436
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25935187
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Smashing_Successor/pseuds/Smashing_Successor
Summary: Little Lucina goes on a field trip with a woman called Robin
Relationships: Chrom/My Unit | Reflet | Robin/My Unit | Reflet | Robin
Comments: 2
Kudos: 19





	Family Matters

**Author's Note:**

> This program brought to you by the manhua "Retired Heroes", dad of boi, and that one history mode level in FE Warriors.
> 
> You know the one.

Lucina is in the middle of a particularly tricky problem when there's a knock at the door.

Robin pauses, halfway through her explanation on multiplying and dividing numbers in a way that still doesn't make sense to Lucina, and looks up from the textbook. She has the smallest frown on her face.

"Hm. Your father isn't supposed to be back until tomorrow night."

"Baba aaah?" asks Morgan from his comfy spot in Robin's lap.

Lucina shrugs. If they can get her out of doing any more practice problems, then she doesn't particularly care who it is at the door. Unless it's the mailman because then that means Robin ordered another textbook to use for class. 

Then Lucina cares. Just a little. 

"Maybe it's Auntie Tharja?" Lucina says, putting down her quill and shaking out her hand.

"Hm," Robin hums again. She closes the textbook with a sharp snap and gets up from the chair. "Keep working. I expect to see some progress when I get back," she says, depositing Morgan into her arms before leaving the room.

Lucina pouts. Rats. Well, maybe her little brother has some ideas on the multiplication table that she can use. Lucina hoists him up so he can see her paper. "Well, what do you think?"

"Abababa baa" he burbles, smacking the textbook with his pudgy hands.

"You think so?" Lucina looks down at the paper. "...No, I already used that answer for number two. Robin would never use the same answer twice. I think?"

"Blabuu."

"Ohhhhh, that one could work. Thanks, Morgan."

"Apppftttt."

Lucina scrawls down the answer with her quill, just as the sound of footsteps reach her ears. A second later, Robin appears in the entryway.

Uh oh. The small frown's turned into a big frown that makes the lines on her forehead stand out. Not a good sign when the frowny lines (that's what Papa calls it, but he made Lucina promise to never tell that to Robin's face, _ever_ ) make an appearance.

Robin gestures to the table with the textbooks and papers strewn about. "Clean up. We're done for today. We have…" her nose wrinkles, and she practically hisses out the last word, "...guests."

"Please, curb your enthusiasm," says Auntie Tharja, appearing behind Robin like a shadow. "It's overwhelming."

"Auntie Tharja!" Lucina gets up and runs over to give her aunt a big hug around the waist and gets a pat on the shoulder in return. Lucina likes Auntie Tharja. Sure she always looks a little gloomy, but her jokes always make Robin chuckle, and the spells and hexes she teaches Lucina are always fun to learn. "What are you doing here? Are you staying over?"

Auntie Tharja opens her mouth to answer, but before she can, a loud nasally voice from behind interrupts her.

"O-oh, goodness gracious no, no!" A second later, Mr. Mayor enters the room, dabbing at his brow with a handkerchief, droopy mustache quivering as his eyes flit across the room. They land on Lucina, and he lets out a loud sniff. "Oh, didn't see you there, little Luci! How are you, lass?" 

The smile drops from Lucina's face. Oh. Well, that explains Robin's bad mood. Auntie Tharja, she actually likes. The town mayor, on the other hand... well, a lot of the sentences Robin uses to describe him usually end in "miserable little worm" or "groveling roach" or something else bug related. And Robin _hates_ bugs.

"Hello, Mr. Mayor," Lucina says, bowing politely. Only Papa can call her Luci, and the way Mr. Mayor says it just sounds wrong, but she doesn't say that out loud because that would be rude, and Papa always says if you don't have anything nice to say, then not to say anything. "Do you want a towel? You look kinda sweaty."

"What? Oh, n-no, I'm fine, that's fine." he laughs, dabbing at his brow again. "But of course, if this is a bad time, I could always pop in later. It's not that important of an issue, just a trifle really, a little smidge of a-"

"Sit down," says Robin, and Mr. Mayor instantly sits down in the closest seat and stops talking. Auntie Tharja makes a soft, scoffing noise that Robin doesn't seem to hear. Instead, she turns to address Lucina. "Go put your brother down for his nap."

No need to tell her twice. Better to be away from Robin's bad mood as far as possible. Lucina picks Marc up and scurries out of the dining room.

"Mr. Mayor must be really desperate if he came over to ask Robin for help," Lucina says as she takes the stairs two at a time. Usually, it's Papa who helps out whenever Mr. Mayor needs something. "What do you think it's this time?"

"Gooblabauu," bubbles her brother, ever the voice of reason, and Lucina nods in agreement. Only one way to find out for sure. She just hopes the house is still in one piece afterward.

\---

Robin pours three cups of tea- one for herself, one for Auntie Tharja, one for Lucina. She accidentally forgets Mr. Mayor's cup.

Mr. Mayor opens his mouth and then closes it. He dabs at his forehead again. And then he picks up the kettle and pours a cup for himself and takes a sip.

" _Gack!_ " he splutters loudly into his cup, splashing most of the tea back onto the table. "Good gods, what in the- I mean, ahem! Pardon, went down the wrong pipe, is all. It's, ah, a tad bitter, isn't it?"

Really? Lucina takes a sip. Hm. Tastes like any normal tea her, which really just tastes like hot water and something a little flowery. It's not bad. Not great. But not bad. Lucina takes another sip and helps herself to a biscuit.

Mr. Mayor has a funny look on his face like he can't really believe what he's seeing. Robin, on the other hand, looks like she's trying to hide a smile.

"To what do I owe the pleasure this time?" Robin asks, setting down her cup. "Another charitable donation from my husband, perhaps? A gift of gold? Or maybe a much-needed endorsement for a re-election campaign, no questions asked?"

"Oh, no!" Mr. Mayor lets out his little laugh. It sounds a bit like a cat getting its tail stepped on. "No, no, no, no. I'm not up for re-election until… well, that's not important. No, I'm here to ask for a, ah, a favor. On the village's behalf. So to speak."

"Oh?" says Robin, drawing out the syllable, and Mr. Mayor fidgets in his seat. "A favor from me, specifically? How quaint." She crosses her legs and leans across the table, and Mr. Mayor leans back even further into his chair. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but I was under the distinct impression that my presence leaves the townsfolk feeling rather… uncomfortable."

Auntie Tharja lets out a snort as she flips the page in her book. Lucina frowns. Uncomfortable? Who says that? That's so mean. But... Robin does stay in the house most of the time and hardly talks to anyone. And when she does have to go out, she's always in a bad mood and snaps at everyone she meets, and her eyes get kinda scary too. Maybe that's what Robin means by uncomfortable.

Still kinda mean though.

Mr. Mayor quickly shakes his head. "Oh, no, no, no. Perish the thought! You and your husband especially, are vital parts of our modest community. Essential, most essential." He lets out another yowling cat laugh before turning to Auntie Tharja. "Wouldn't you agree, ma'am?"

"Somebody mucked up the wards around the village, and they need replacing before the Risen get in. Again." Auntie Tharja says without looking up from her book, and Mr. Mayor's laugh turns into a choke.

Uh oh.

Robin slowly puts down her cup. The look on her face is the same face she makes when she's trying a new recipe and accidentally burns it. Or that one time she caught Lucina sneaking into Papa's study to practice with Falchion. Not a happy look. Which means that Mr. Mayor is in trouble. 

Big. Trouble.

"I believe my exact instructions to you after I set up the wards were 'not to be tampered with, under any circumstances, on pain of death,' were they not?" says Robin in a low voice.

Mr. Mayor coughs, his face whiter than even his handkerchief. "Y-yes, w-well, apparently, some of the local lads, they may have, ah, knocked over one of the protection staves in their roughhousing. Entirely on accident, of course, of course! What can I say, boys will be boys!"

"Until a Risen gets through the barrier and devours every warm-blooded creature in its sight," says Robin in a flat voice that makes Mr. Mayor turn even whiter. "Then boys will be corpses."

"The town could use a good culling anyway." Auntie Tharja closes her book with a dark smirk. "Maybe the Risen could run over that atrocious eyesore of a statue in the town square as well. I'm sure the first Exalt would thank us for putting that sorry excuse for his likeness out of its misery."

"My husband donated money to have that statue erected," says Robin with a matching smile that makes Lucina think she wouldn't actually miss the statue, even if Papa did pay for the construction. It is a little hard to look at, though. They made King Marth's nose really, really big. Bigger than his entire face even...

Auntie Tharja scoffs. "As if. The Risen would be doing us a favor. That is if they don't get indigestion first."

Mr. Mayor's face is starting to look a little less pale and a little more green instead. Lucina feels bad for him. She may be used to Auntie Tharja's and Robin's kind of jokes, but Mr. Mayor sure isn't. 

"Risen can't get tummy aches," Lucina chimes in. "They're missing the guts for it."

Mr. Mayor turns even greener and shudders. "A-anyway, back to the matter at hand," he says, and the small smile on Robin's face fades as she turns back to him. "A-as I was saying, it's a, ah, bit of a nuisance, so to speak, but the wards do need repairing. Er, or replacing- whatever it is you need to do to make sure the Risen don't get in and uh, d-devour every warm-blooded creature in sight." He gulps. "I-if it's not too much trouble, of course."

Robin is quiet for a long second, tapping her hands on the table as Mr. Mayor blinks rapidly in the mounting silence. Lucina knows she's going to say yes regardless, but that doesn't mean she has to like it. Kind of like how broccoli is supposed to be good for Lucina, but it's not going to stop her from making a face every time Robin puts it on her plate. It's that kind of feeling.

"We'll see," she finally says, and Mr. Mayor lets out a long breath. "For your sake, it better not be the ward in the northwest corner of the forest. I despise making the trek out that far," she says as she pulls off her gloves. 

Robin places her right hand on the table, palm down. A second later, purple lines begin to form themselves on the back of her hand, connecting and crisscrossing until they finally come to a halt.

Lucina peers over. Six purple eyes peer back at her, leering. The far left one in the middle is faded, the purple color almost impossible to see.

"Hmmm. West of here, just past the blacksmith. Half a day's journey," says Robin, slipping her gloves back on. "Lucky for you."

Mr. Mayor's eyes are open so wide like he's seen a ghost. Lucina's surprised they don't pop out of his head. He mutters something beneath his breath, too quiet for her to here.

Something in Robin's eyes flashes red.

"I'm sorry, I didn't quite catch that," she says pleasantly with a smile that sends shivers down Lucina's own spine. "But it sounded to me like you said ' _bloody demon_ ,' unless I'm sorely mistaken?"

The teacup in Mr. Mayor's hand suddenly cracks without warning and shatters, spilling scalding tea all over his front.

Mr. Mayor lets out a squeal. " _Good gods in heaven_ \- I-I mean, no! Gods no, no, _no_ of c-course n-not, you must've misheard ahaha!" He stands up abruptly, chair screeching against the floor. "O-oh, heavens, would you look at the time! Have to g-go, other urgent matters to attend to!"

He disappears into the hallway. A second later, the front door slams shut with a bang.

Lucina peers after him. Well, that was weird. And a little rude too. He could've at least finished his tea instead of spiling it everywhere. 

Robin lets out a scoff. "Maggot."

"Please, that's an insult to actual maggots," Auntie Tharja drawls, leaning back in her seat as she plays with a biscuit. "You should've just turned his bones into paste. I have just the hex."

"Do not tempt me." Robin pinches her brow before narrowing her eyes at Auntie Tharja. "Why did you even come with him in the first place?"

"He asked me to. I suppose he thought I could smooth things over in case negotiations went south since I'm the only one in this village you can talk to without wanting to eviscerate." Auntie Tharja pops the biscuit into her mouth. "But mostly so I could see the twit make a fool of himself."

"Charming." Robin leans back in her chair with a sigh, the worst of her mood having turned into exasperation. "I'll have to be out of the house for most of the day tomorrow."

Auntie Tharja carelessly waves her hand. "I'll watch over your little spawn, don't fret. Noire's been begging for another play date anyways."

"Good," says Robin with a satisfied nod before she turns to Lucina. "Dress warmly for tomorrow. You're coming as well."

Lucina pauses, biscuit halfway to her mouth. "I am?"

"Of course you are. I've been meaning to teach you how to set up the wards for some time now. Might as well kill two wyverns with one arrow while I'm at it."

Oh. That makes sense. Lucina nods. Beats having to do practice problems all day at least.

...Wait a minute. 

A whole day outside. Away from the books and boring practice problems that make her head hurt. One entire day. It sounds too good to be true.

But… if it is true. And if Lucina thinks about it some more. Isn't this kind of like... like...

"A field trip!"


End file.
